[What] Step into a positive future vision for healthcare
“The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.” — Toni Cade Bambara
New conversations and strategies become possible when we think from a positive vision of the future. Research shows that visions of success that describe the outcomes of change help to motivate engagement toward that change (Meadows 1999; van der Helm 2009; Irwin 2015; Tonkinwise 2015; Ramos 2017; Escobar 2018). Let’s clarify our ideas about the worlds we really want to build. Because such clarity can reveal new strategies and priorities. Or simply bring joy and relief to people who are most often battling seemingly intractable challenges.
At the Design for Dignity Conference in Boston in June 2024, our team invited workshop attendees (innovators, designers, and healthcare leaders) to step into two future moments for healthcare.
Two Future Moments
Our goal was to share two alternate visions of positive possible futures for larger public roles that nurses could play. With the focus on dignity, we drew on our experience working on innovation projects with hospital nurses, and the devastating burnout for nurses during the COVID pandemic. This perspective led us to explore ideas about the future of dignified work for front-line workers.
The two futures we manifested represent a collaborative effort and are a public imagining of a world that celebrates the work of nurses. It reflects what the larger public perceives and imagines as the future of dignified work for nurses.
Two Experiential Futures
What if we all participated in shaping our own
health-centered communities?
Future 1: A Community Planning Meeting for General Hills
This future moment was a participatory immersion– workshop attendees walked into a community meeting for the City of Boston in the year 2074. The mayor (played by Lauren Rosi) greeted everyone and introduced the head of the Nurse Force (played by Justin DuPuis). The Nurse Force is a team created to integrate health and healing into communities, rather than focusing only on clinics and hospitals. The Mayor needed everyone to give input on a new community plan.
Future 2: Health Force Induction Ceremony
What if youth grew up with a passion for care
and an opportunity to serve the world?
The second future moment was a vision immersion. Attendees crossed the hallway and walked into another world. The room was very dark, lit only by a blue light and glow sticks. A mother (played by Suzi Hamill) welcomed everyone into a private ceremony to induct her son into the Global Health Force. Leo (Suzi’s actual son)is graduating from high school and committing his next two years to travel the world to be trained as a health healer. He would be mentored by a global team of nurses and his cousin, who was there to perform the induction ritual. We, as witnesses, could perform the ritual too to send Leo off in health.
How it unfolded (the details of experiential futures)
Future 1: Building out a convincing and participatory community planning meeting
The meeting comes to order
- As the meeting began, Hillary Carey, the Chief of Staff for the mayor, greeted them and welcomed them, beginning to orient them to the future. There was some laughter as people began to understand the theater that was happening.
- The mayor spoke about this momentous occasion.
- Then the head of the Nurse Force centered us with a breathing activity and walked us through the timeline to celebrate the emergence of this important organization that has been formed.
Goodbye Ritual
Each person wrote something they are excited to say goodbye to in healthcare
Collective imagination within the future.
It is unusual to perform a participatory activity within an experiential future, but it unfolded beautifully.
- A blueprint of the future community
- Individual and group questions to guide collaboration
Hello Ritual
With their future communities in mind, each person wrote something they are excited to say hello to.
Closing
Take care of yourself and of each other. May health be our wealth for life.
Future 2: Inviting people to celebrate service to the Health Force
An unusual environment
The room was dark, lit only by a blue light and glow sticks. Three figures stand at the front of the room, quietly watching people enter and sit down.
Introduction
Suzi, a long-time nurse and mother of the inductee. There is emotion in her voice as she talks with pride about her accomplished and activism-oriented son Leo. Leo is the inductee, entering a 2-year commitment to learning and applying healing arts and health care. Leo’s cousin is present as a mentor, he has served two years in the Health Force already and will shepherd Leo through his international journey. Doug, who is a neighbor and friend, supports the ceremony as an extension of community and as a musician.
Breathing Exercise
Sam leads breathwork exercises for everyone gathered.
Oath of the Health Force
I solemnly vow to embrace loving kindness, inspired by the science of caring, to foster genuine connections and compassion. I will integrate evidence-based practices into my nurturing relationships, forgiveness and creative problem solving recognizing the profound impact of caring on physical, mental, and emotional well being.
Washing of the hands
Leo’s mother washes his hands. He washes her hands with a pitcher from their family home. A reminder that hands are healing. You must care for your hands to care for others.
Weaving through the fire.
Leo leads the group through the light sticks as they chant “Out with the bad, in with the good, the only way out is through.”
Chanting Oms
To send Leo good energy, Sam leads the plenary in Oms.
Closing
Go forth in health. May the force be with you.
Reflection activity
After the two very different immersions in a vision of the future, we gathered the group and debriefed. We provided a guidebook with questions and prompts so people could individually reflect before sharing aloud. The guidebook also led them through their own visioning process for their personal or organizational work.
Questions:
- What elements from this future were the clearest to you? What has happened in 2074?
- What from this future do you want to celebrate? What from this future gives you pause?
- What organizations or institutions would be most likely to make this happen?
- Who should be involved/consulted/collaborate?
- What are the benefits? To whom?
- What are the risks? For whom?
Thank you!
This project was spearheaded by Mike Lin, Suzi Hamill, and myself. An amazing group of imaginative collaborators gave us their weekend time and their insightful ideas to make this work possible!
Tell us what this prompts for you!
Comment below with your ideas, questions, critiques, and builds!
Get in touch with us to learn more about doing this type of future visioning and participatory immersion work for your organization.
Mike Lin, Strategy & Innovation, Mike [at] aspenlabsnetwork.com
Suzanne Hamill, Founder at Cloth, FutureSuzi [at] gmail.com
Hillary Carey, Social Design Dreaming, Hillary [at] JustVisions.co
CITATIONS
Escobar, Arturo. 2018. Designs for the Pluriverse: Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Helm, Ruud van der. 2005. “The Future According to Frederik Lodewijk Polak: Finding the Roots of Contemporary Futures Studies.” Futures, 37 (6):
505–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2004.10.017.
Irwin, Terry. 2015. “Transition Design: A Proposal for a New Area of Design Practice, Study, and Research.” Design and Culture, 7 (2): 229–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/17547075.2015.1051829.
Meadows, Donella. 1999. “Places to Intervene in a System: In Increasing Order of Effectiveness.” The Sustainability Institute.
Ramos, José M. 2017. “Linking Foresight and Action: Toward a Futures Action Research.” In The Palgrave International Handbook of Action Research, 823–42. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Tonkinwise, Cameron. 2015. “Design for Transitions ‒ from and to What?” Design Philosophy Papers 13 (1): 85–92.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14487136.2015.1085686.
